Bishop Eddie Long Sued over Ponzi Scheme

Atlanta megachurch pastor Bishop Eddie Long is facing a lawsuit from former parishioners who say he encouraged them to invest in a company that was operating an alleged Ponzi scheme.

A dozen former members of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., filed suit in DeKalb County court in late January. The suit says that Long’s assistant had been warned that businessman Ephren W. Taylor was running a $3 million capital deficit, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

After Long introduced the businessman as his “friend,” the former New Birth members lost more than $1 million investing with the self-described “social capitalist.”

“If Bishop Eddie Long hadn’t endorsed this they wouldn’t have invested,” Jason Doss, attorney for the former members, told the Journal-Constitution.